“So, why are you here, Liz?”
I licked my lips like I always did when I got nervous. “I’m here because I’m curious.”
“No, you were curious back then. That’s not the reason you’re here tonight.”
I sometimes really hated how perceptive he was. “You’re right.”
Normally, I would remain passive and let him lead me along. But that passivity had been most of the problem for the past few weeks. If I wasn’t the one to take some action, then I knew I’d always question myself. Reaching down, I covered his hand with mine, keeping us connected.
“I’m caught between two worlds. I love what we’ve been doing in the bedroom. Since we’ve gotten together, my sex life has become something amazing. I’ve been able to do things that I didn’t know were possible. I love that and I don’t want to lose it.”
He gave me that small smile of his but didn’t interrupt me.
“But I’m greedy. I want the typical relationship stuff, too. We started off so weirdly. I mean, who buys a man for a night, charity auction or no? It’s messed up. And then we were just doing scene things and then the movies and hanging out and stuff. It’s like we accidently backed into a relationship.”
“We did go about things in the wrong order.”
“Right? It’s crazy.” I leaned in and pressed my forehead against his. “I don’t want to lose you. I love you. But I need to somehow mesh these two worlds together.”
We stayed like that for a bit, leaning against each other. Gareth eventually moved, rubbing the tip of his nose against mine.
“When I first started getting into BDSM, I was married. We’d already done the courting and this was the next step for us.” He pulled back enough so I could really stare into his eyes. “I didn’t want to admit to being scared to move past my wife. Each step we take is bigger than the last. What we shared made it easier for me to get involved. And make no mistake, Liz, I’m involved.”
The shiver that ripped through me was equal parts desire and anticipation. “I want regular dates.”
“Agreed.”
“And floggings. I really want to keep the floggings.”
“Of course.”
“And office sex. I
really
liked the office sex.”
“We’ll have to see about that. You were all I could smell for days after.” Master Gareth cupped my cheek. “I don’t want to take away what we have. I want to build on it. You know me well enough to realize that sometimes I drag my feet. Not because I don’t want to move forward, but because I’m scared to lose the past.”
“I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. I’m not Rachael. But I’ll never force you to choose between us.”
“Which is one of the reasons why I love you.”
The grin bloomed across my face. “I love you too.”
The smile dropped from his face, but the sparkle in his eyes remained. “Rules.”
“Yes, Sir.” I did love his rules.
He stood up, crossed his arms, and stared down at me. “Scenes will no longer be assumed. They must be negotiated ahead of time. Dates will happen.” He cocked an eyebrow. “I will not be the only one planning those.”
Yep, I really fucking loved him.
“I’m letting you know that things are about to get kinky. If you want to stop tonight, please say so right now.”
I took my corset off instead.
“I’ll take that to be an acceptance. From this point on the only way to stop the evening will be for you to say your safeword. Please tell me what it is.”
“Book.”
He smirked again. “Very well. You will refer to me as Master or Sir for the rest of the evening. Remove the remainder of your clothing and put it by your shoes. Then return to me.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The last time I got naked in this room I was a nervous wreck. My hands still shook, but this time with anticipation. Master Gareth was gathering items from the toy chest in the far corner of the room. I really wanted to peek at what he had in mind for me tonight, but that took some of the fun out of it. Rather than bounce on my toes beside him, I stood silent off to the side. I loved being a bit of a brat, but tonight I wanted nothing more than to be a good girl.
Master Gareth turned to face me, a set of leather cuffs in each hand. “Come here.”
Holding out my arms as I stepped closer, I kept my gaze lowered. “Yes, Sir.”
“Tonight is about remembering why you came here originally. What you enjoy about being restrained, spanked, fucked. Tonight is about you, Liz. Rediscovering who you are and accepting it.”
I nodded. My throat had tightened from an unexpected rush of emotions. Dammit, I hated when he knew exactly what to say to make me cry.
The leather cuffs were a comfort around my wrists. They were tight enough to feel as though I were being hugged, but loose enough that I wouldn’t lose circulation. Once they were in place, I remained still, knowing there would be more to come.
Master Gareth cupped my left breast, lowering his mouth to suck my nipple. I sucked in a breath through my nose and did my best to stand still. My nipples had always been super sensitive. Sometimes it was easier to take the pain he’d inflict on them than the gentle pleasure. The pleasure roared through me, too much to actually be enjoyable. It crested and vanished as he released me.
“So responsive.” Then he bit down lightly on the peak.
There was no way I was stopping the moan that time. My pussy was wet and my clit swollen and all he’d done was cuff me and suck my nipple.
So going to be a fun night!
This time when he pulled away, he grabbed hold of my wrist and pulled me over to the restraints hanging from the ceiling. “Hands up.”
As much as you prepare your body for this, every time it feels a bit different. I’d been tense for weeks, and my body ached. The muscles in my shoulders and upper back protested the sudden change in position as they were stretched up. My feet were perfectly flat, which gave me room to be able to adjust.
“Stand still.” The edge was back to his voice. Now the real games were going to begin.
I lowered my gaze, closed my eyes, and got my breathing under control. Master Gareth gave me the time I needed to get into my proper headspace.
Well, almost enough time.
The unexpected slap to my ass drew a yelp from me.
“Eyes open. I want you to see everything I’m doing. I want you to know that it’s me. That what I’m doing is exactly what you want.” He held up a long, flat paddle. “We’re going to start with this.”
I licked my lips and nodded. “Whatever you want, Sir.”
Master Gareth walked two slow circles around me. He touched me randomly, scraped his nails along various bits of my skin. My mind couldn’t help but try to anticipate where the next caress or pinch would come. His fingers were then replaced with the soft scrape of the paddle along my back. The wood was well polished, sliding easily across my skin. It was cold as he ran it down the length of my back to the swell of my ass.
Instinctively, I held my breath, waiting for the sting of wood against flesh.
It didn’t come.
Instead, Master Gareth continued to use it to draw lines down the backs of my legs, up the sides of my thighs, across the tops of my breasts. The longer he went on, the more he teased me, the more aroused I grew. My body shook and I had to fight harder to keep still, to not squirm away from the contact.
I lost track of how many times he circled me. I had to focus on a spot on the wall—an O-ring—so that I wouldn’t get dizzy. My skin adjusted to the temperature of the room, making me hyperaware of his body heat each time he stepped close.
The paddle was pressed to my ass. The face was long enough to cover both cheeks, but not wide enough to touch my lower back or the tops of my thighs. Master Gareth held it there, and I knew he was doing what he needed to mentally be ready for what was to come.
The first slap of wood against skin was merely a testing blow. It wouldn’t have hurt even the newest of submissives. Master Gareth always gave me a little tap to say,
Hey, this is happening now.
I relaxed my muscles and let gravity pull my chin toward my chest.
The second slap hurt. I cried out at the surprising bite of the pain. It woke me from my haze, pulled me back to the bright light that was Master Gareth. It felt as though a thousand small creatures had nipped at my ass all at once, leaving a sting in their wake.
The third slap was just as strong, the pain as bright.
The fourth, fifth, and six came in such rapid succession that I couldn’t keep up with it. I tried to squirm away, move to avoid what was coming. Master Gareth grabbed my waist with one of his large hands and held me still.
The seventh slap brought a numbness that seeped into my muscles. The pain dulled and I was left with warmth that traveled through my body to my cunt.
Master Gareth walked around to face me. Using the edge of the paddle, he lifted my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes. “You are so strong. Not many people could take what I’d just given you.”
My heart pounded from his praise. “Thank you, Sir.” My voice was ragged but clear.
He slid the long edge of the paddle down my body, between my breasts and across my belly button. “You know how to stop this. One word and I’ll free you. You can walk away and I’ll think nothing less of you.”
“Yes, Sir. I won’t do that.”
“But you can.” He moved the paddle edge between my legs, carefully pressing it to my clit. “You are in control. Always.”
I gasped as he slowly increased the pressure on my clit. It would be so easy to give in, to let myself get swept up with the pleasure and come. Master Gareth wouldn’t be pleased, but he would understand. But I wanted to do this right, for both our sakes. I held on, breathed through the growing pleasure, and distracted myself as best I could. Finally, Master Gareth removed the paddle and the pressure eased.
“Good girl.”
Normally, this would be the time where he’d haul out the nipple clamps to torture me. He knew that I loved it, even when I was cursing him for inflicting them on me. But other than the paddle, he didn’t seem to have anything else ready to use on me.
“Liz, I need you to hold still.”
That was all the warning I got before he lined the paddle up with my left breast and gave it a smack.
“Aww!”
My nipple stung in a weird way. It hurt, but so did the rest of my breast. Before I could recover from the shock, he grabbed the now super-hard nipple between his finger and thumb and pinched hard.
I nearly came.
He then shifted position and repeated the actions on the other side. As he pinched me, I couldn’t help but squeeze my thighs together. The added pressure on my clit was almost enough to push me over the edge.
“No!” He released my nipple and kicked my feet apart. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
“Please, Sir. Master Gareth . . .”
“You know better. I’m the one who lets you come. I’m the one who pushes you over. Me.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Fuckety, fucking, fucker.
He disappeared for a moment, gone behind me to the toy chest. The spacer bar wasn’t much of a surprise on his return. He quickly adjusted the bar and secured the cuffs to my ankles. Now there was no way in hell I’d be able to do anything.
“I hate you. Sir.”
He slapped the inside of my thigh. “You don’t.”
Master Gareth continued his torture for so long, I lost track of how much time had passed. He’d switch from slapping my ass and the tops of my thighs with the paddle to lightly caressing and kissing the tender skin. Occasionally he’d bite my ass and I’d cry out. Pain and pleasure became mixed until I couldn’t tell the difference.
“I’m going to try something different now.”
The long, thin flogger tip teased the skin between my shoulder blades. Fuck, it had been a long time since he’d done that to me. My cunt throbbed, and I knew that the lightest of touches would be enough to make me come. If I was really lucky, he’d use the handle to rub me off and make me scream.
Yeah, right.
At first the taps of the flogger against my back were light. Nothing more than teasing kisses of leather strands against skin. I couldn’t tell how wide the leather tendrils were, but they felt heavy, thick. That was the kind I enjoyed. He ran the flogger across my shoulders so the multitude of tips caressed the side of my neck and the tops of my breasts.
“I’ve wanted to do this to you for a week now.”
I moaned. Master Gareth on a mission was always a good time.
“Those are the noises I want to hear. Be loud, Liz. Show me how much you’re enjoying this.”
Unlike with the paddle, Master Gareth was establishing a pattering with the blows. Right shoulder, left side. Left shoulder, right side. With each pass he increased the pressure, amped up the intensity of each blow. The touches morphed from light caresses, to gentle slaps, to biting stings.
“You should see your back, Liz. Your skin is turning red. It will match your ass soon.”
I couldn’t hold my head up any longer and let gravity pull my chin down toward my chest once more. The blows rained down on me, the pain causing me to relax more than anything else. I couldn’t think about anything beyond the moment.
There was no pressure from work.
No fear of judgment.
No feelings of inadequacy.
No fear that Master Gareth would do anything to hurt me.
There was nothing but his sure touch and the arousal that burned me from inside out.
Master Gareth stopped and I was vaguely aware of him moving around before me once more. Using both his hands, he cupped my cheeks and looked me in the eyes.
“There’s my girl.” His voice was barely a whisper. “You’re amazing.”
He rubbed tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. I wanted to say something, thank him for bringing me to this place of peace, but I’d lost the ability to speak. Not that it mattered, because he knew. I could tell from the gentleness of the kisses he pressed to my forehead. The loving way he held me up as he released my arms from the chain that held them up.